How did you attract/addres

s your audience?

Front coverThe image used has connotations of the country genre. I thought carefully about the way the model was dressed, he is wearing a chequered shirt and is holding a guitar. My research and background knowledge tells me that these are connotations of the country genre which allows me to portray an accurate representation of the genre.

This is used to address my audience as they are immediately drawn to this as it is what they aspire to and want to see in a country musician.

The use of warm colours here also instantly draws the audience to my magazine, they are associated with the outdoors, nature and purity which are all connotations of the country genre. I was able to choose the colours to also fit well around my image through the use of Adobe Photoshop’s colour selection tool on the guitar.

The use of “exclusive” in the description of the interview attracts my audience as it suggests my magazine is the only one to publish this interview and it is not possible to read it without purchasing my particular magazine.

The use of “insight” has a similar effect as it tells the reader they will find out more than has been published already, such as gossip and backstage features. This, along with the use of “exclusive” also fulfils one of the four main gratifications of the Uses and Gratifications Theory - Surveillance. An audience has a need to know what’s going on in the world and this use of language will attract the audience as they know that this magazine will provide them with news others will not.

Contents pageHere, I have attracted my audience from the start through direct address. I have used direct address in the section where the editor speaks directly to the reader. This engages the reader immediately and makes the reader feel like they are being spoken to directly.

The image used here for the editor will address my audience as it also, like the text, uses direct address through direct gaze into the camera lens. This also helps to engage the reader.

I have gone for a minimalist approach in terms of photographs to focus the importance on certain content in the magazine, hence the use of one large photograph.

This helps to attract the audience as the model is of youthful age, this fits in with my target market and the audience will find it easier to imagine themselves as the musician. The use of colours in this photograph, again they are warm giving us country connotations. We also see the scenery behind the model as a natural scene in a park, which is very evocative of the country genre.

Double page spreadIn the design of my double page spread, I chose to attract my audience through the full utility of the space available for my main image. I believe that a full page image is more likely to appeal to my audience than a more complicated layout, such as one with several images layered over one another.

This allowed my audience to see the country connotations in the image of the model’s props and clothing and the natural setting of the photograph. This adds appeal to the audience and, in turn, attracts my audience.

The natural setting of the photograph also allows the audience to picture themselves in the scene as “Johnny Ray Creek” as many readers will have aspirations and dreams to become a country musician. This applies the Uses and Gratifications Theory (Blumler & Katz) as it allows the audience to be active and express their personal identity. It gives my reader the opportunity to enforce their values.

There is also a small section here that gives an insight of the musician’s life up till now, this give the audience the opportunity to forma virtual relationship with the character, further using the Uses and Gratifications Theory.